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Fear trumps Freedom? Where is the hope?

U.S. President Donald Trump?s inaugural speech just over a year ago raised

the fear that the United States was quickly going 'to hell in a hand-basket'. Add mass shootings, bombings, hurricanes, fires, mudslides, earthquakes and threats of war between the U.S. and North Korea. It all feels very bleak. Is it true or not? Are we on the road to Armageddon? Is there something we can do??

All this reminds me of going on a journey by snowmobile pulling a back sleigh with a secured load and the road is sometimes smooth and more oftentimes it is rough. This requires that we need to continually check that the load remains secure. Because of the continual shifting of the load due to the road conditions it will tend to shift thereby creating the opportunity to begin to loosen the secure bonds put in place at the beginning.?

We can compare this to what is happening around us as a society. We are moving very fast into the future with information moving at lightning speed via the social media. We hardly have the time to keep our values and beliefs secure enough to take us to our destination safely. Even worse, many of our freedoms to act are being eroded; we can't walk into a sports arena without getting scanned, we can't easily board an airplane and we can't be sure of our personal privacy on our cell phones or desktops. We are trading freedom and the personal power to act for protection, and our standards seem to be more about security from others and their?

threats than they are about living a meaningful life.?

My faith informs me that when we lose sight of that faith and then focus on our own self-centred image and power, we suffer. Put another way, we need to keep our focus on something bigger than ourselves. To illustrate, during the Civil Rights movement in the United States in the 50's and 60's the central hymns were `Keep Your Eyes on the Prize` and `We Shall Overcome`. Clearly their lyrics articulate the need and importance of a central common vision and the need for strong values and beliefs so we can all work together as one community. Without a doubt these ingredients are seen as necessary for bringing real social change, healing, oneness and grace. trustytime The same is true of the recent 'Me Too' movement in the U.S., Canada and now globally which is focused on putting an end to sexual harassment. And again like the 'Idle No More' movement right here at home in Canada.?

If we wish to get off the highway to Armageddon we must change the focus to some common standards or principles, and from this agreement, value each other and move forward together in reconciliation and to make this world and our society a better place. For me it's a lesson from Jeremiah to never lose faith and to honour God, the creator of us all.?